Apparatus for lofting and fluffing yarns and the like



May 9, 1939. H. c. WOLFENDEN 2,157,976

APPARATUS FOR LQFTING AND FLUFF'ING YARNS AND THE LIKE 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Original Filed May 14, 1955 May 9, 1939. H. c. WOLFENDEN APPARATUS FOR LOFTING AND FLUFFING YARNS AND THE LIKE Original Filed May 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W 1140611 (I01 A; WW

Patented May 9, 1939 PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR LOFTING AND FLUFFING YARNS AND THE LIKE Harry G. Wolfenden, Attleboro, Mass.

Original application May 14, 1935, Serial No. 21,392,. Divided and this application April 28, 1938, Serial No. 204,908

1 Claim.

My present invention is a division of my prior Patent No. 2,120,844, filed June 14, 1938, and is a novel and improved apparatus for use in treating previously dyed weaving and knitting yarns to add moisture and to eliminate the relative harshness in the yarn, to overcome the matted condition, and to impart a lofting and flufling of the yarn, increasing its diameter and softness as a final finishing operation.

During the various treatments to which yarn is subjected during the dyeing processes, including the successive wetting, cleaning, scouring, washing, rinsing, and drying actions, the yarn becomes somewhat matted down, the strands or threads being subjected to some straining as well as the constant weight, and results in reducing the diameter of the yarn, leaving'it stringy or in a contracted condition harsh to the touch.

My present invention aims to obviate the above difliculties and-to provide a'final and further conditioning step or process which will result in rendering the finished yarn uniform throughout in texture, moisture-content, and dryness, as well as to restore it to the desirable fiufiiness or lofting which the dyeing operation has dispelled, thus quickly and automatically counteracting the former distortions of the various machine operations.

A still further feature is that my invention restores to a substantial degree the extent of moisture in the yarn desirable for maintaining the same in proper condition where it may have been dried too much and become harsh.

In carrying out my present invention, I provide a conditioning receptacle, room, or the like in which the yarn is put for a short time, and subject it to a special further and predetermined amount of treatment by supplying live steam therein, usually five .or twenty minutes being sufficient to condition the yarn and restore it to its fiuffy state, completing the desired conditioning action.

Important features of my present apparatus consist in providing means to permit a flow of steam therethrough, which adds the moisture needed for the flufiing and lofting operation, and which also will eliminate the danger of damage to the yarn contained within the apparatus by condensing the steam and dripping the steam on to the yarn suspended within.

. For this purpose I provide a structure having a water-absorbent roof or ceiling and, preferably, water-repellent sides. Furthermore, I provide positive means to expel the steam as by a fan, thus enablin a flow of steam therethrough as well also to draw off the steam before opening the door, or

doors, and removing the treated articles at the end of the time, ten or twenty minutes of the treatment. The fan or blower, therefore, must be operated while the yarn is still in the apparatus, and I provide means to prevent the yarn from being drawn into the blower by the suction created during the operation of the same, and thus to prevent danger or damage to the yarn while the fan or blower is in operation.

Further advantages, improvements, and novel features will be hereinafter more fully pointed out and claimed.

Referring to the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention wherein my process and apparatus are shown,

, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus for carrying out my process;

I Fig. 2 is a vertical view partly in cross-section illustrating sections of yarn in the conditioning apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on a reduced scale;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale illustrating the steam pipe and deflecting guard;

Fig. 5 is a view of a yarn skein after it had been scoured, cleaned, and dyed, but before drying;

Fig. 6 illustrates in diagrammatic form the same after being dried, subsequent to dyeing;

Fig. 7 shows the relative length and fiumness of th same skein when subjected to my conditioning and lofting process;

Fig. 8 is illustrative of the normal diameter of the yarn in askein after dyeing, and

Fig. 9 illustrates the same after having been subjected to my conditioning process showing it in its improved lofted and flufl'ed condition.

As shown in the drawings, I provide a suitable receptacle, here illustrated as a steam-tight box or room, suitable to receive a single rack of yarn skeins, although the apparatus may be of sufilcient size and width to provide a plurality of such racks. In the drawings is shown a floor or support on which side stanchions I, I and roof beams 2, 2 are formed to hold the walls 4-4, roof or ceiling 5, and ends 6'6 constituting the conditioning receptacle. Suitable doors llll0 are provided at one end which may be opened to receive a rack l2 carrying a series of bars l5l5 on which the skeins of dyed yarn I6-l6 are loosely hung in spaced relation.

I find it important to construct this receptacle with a lining of moisture-repellent material. Otherwise, the steam which is admitted within Ill sheet rock or the like standard article, or may be a proper sheathing or lining suitably coated to be moisture-repellent.

The ceiling 5 I desire to form or finish with a water-absorbent material, such as Celotex, or the like so that the steam will be absorbed thereby and will not drip upon the yarn on the rack beneath. V

' The floor I is preferably of concrete and, therefore, the condensed steam which drips off the. sides and oil. the receptacle will condense, form on the floor I as water, and be conducted n. oil any suitable, drain. Along the floor I I provide one or morepipes, here shown as two in number, viz., and 26, leading the same through a conduit 21 to any suitable source of steam supply and, preferably, providing a valve adjacent the door and to the left, viewed in Fig. 1. These steam p pes are each provided with a series ofholes or recesses, preferably on opposite sides, as shown at 3i and 32, Fig. 4, so that steam emerging from the pipes 25 and 26 will flow from theseries of holes, as shown, around the pipe and upwardly, treating and conditioning the yarn on the rack I2.

.I prefer, also,to provide a guard 4040 protecting the steam pipes, and provided with baflle plates ll, 42, and 43 substantially as shown in Fig. 4 to deflect the steam risingfrom the steam pipes, dispersing the same and rendering it more even in its flow upwardly through and around the yarn i5. These baflles are fitted through 40 openings in the top of the guards l0 and provide a-series of steam passages therethrough, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 4.. After a rack l2 filled with yarn is rolled into the receptacle, the doors I. are closed, giving a steam-tight structure; the valve 30 is opened, and steam admitted for the desired length 'oftime.

From fiveto twenty minutes is usually sufficient for the conditioning and treatment of any type of yarn and any kind of dye to effect the lofting ahd fluiling, as well as rendering the same uniform throughout, eliminating harshness, and giving a desirable additional weight by moisture to the yarn, and also to aid in the development and setting of the dye.

I have illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and '7 a comparative view showing lengths of a yarnskein, Fig. 5, illustrating same after scouring and dyeing; and Fig. 6 showing the same slightly shrunk, tensioned, stretched, and the fibres narrowed go after drying.

when applied to the dyeing tank, a bar is put For this purpose I line the through each end of the skein so that a substantial tensioning may result during the dyeing action, resulting in tightening the strands of" each, Fig. 8 being a typical illustration. During the normal drying in extractors and rotary air dryers, the moisture is simply removed and no special lofting or flufilng action results; while by my improved process and in my conditioning apparatus the skein will shrink still further, as shown in Fig. 7, and the yarn is fluffed, lofted, and increased in diameter substantially as shown in Fig. 9 in comparison with the narrower diameter of yarn in Fig. 8.

In'addition, the drying renders the entire yarn more uniform while eliminating harshness, thus obtaining an important advantage by my conditioning process, and also aids in developing of a the dye.

When the steam valve-is shut off the steam and then the doors l0 opened and the rack i2 rolled out and replaced by another rack. However, in order to control the steam and prevent its escaping thru the doors I0, I provide a blower 50 operated by any suitable source of power, such as a motor 5i, arranged on a suitable support 52 at the rear of the apparatus, having an entrance 53 into the interior of the receptacle. An opening stack 54 extends from the blower outside the building, and when the steam is supplied a damper 55 operated by a rod 56, extending to a handle 51 near the front or door end of the receptacle, is kept closed. This steam is held within the receptacle when the damper 55 shuts off the stack 54, and, when drawn outwardly or to the left, viewed in Figs. 1 and 2,

- and the motor 5! turned on the fan will suck or draw the steam out of the receptacle prior to opening the doors 10. Y

A guard 60 is also preferably supplied so that the rack i2 will not be too close to the blower when it is turned on and will guard against any yarn at the blower end-of the receptacle being drawn into the same.

I may supply one or more cross-brackets Ii, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in which a singlebar with a set of skeins of yarn or a single skein may be applied instead of using the racks I! if it is desired to treat a small quantity or number.

I claim: 5

Apparatus of the kind described, comprising a steam-tight receptacle having a moisture-absorbent ceiling and moisture-repellent walls, means to receive in said receptacle a quantity of yarn, means to supply steam thereto, means comprising a guard for the steam-supplying means, and a baiiie member for the steam emerging therefrom to diffuse the steam supplied throughout the receptacle.

HARRY c. WOLFENDEN. 

